


The First Blow

by Tarlan



Category: Eureka
Genre: Alternate Reality, Angst, Community: trope_bingo, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-23
Updated: 2013-02-23
Packaged: 2017-12-03 08:29:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/696312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Zoe is hurt in a lab accident, Jack loses his last shred of control when Nathan intervenes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The First Blow

**Author's Note:**

> Mentions old canon relationships. An alternate universe where Nathan didn't end up erased from the timeline, and Allison turned both of them down. With so many time devices lying around in Eureka, you know it could have happened this way!
> 
> Written for Trope_Bingo prompt Locked In

It was his own goddamn jail cell, Jack fumed. Jo had no right to lock him in here, especially over Nathan Stark, and especially when she wasn't even his deputy since the Founder's Day time travel disaster. No one had ever deserved a punch more than that infuriating, smug, egotistic man. He'd put Zoe's life in danger with his latest experiment and hadn't even had the guts to say sorry. No. Instead he'd trotted out with same old lame excuses about science being all about risk and Zoe knowing the dangers.

She was only eighteen years old, for chrissake. She might have book smarts - and that was another one of her little white lies that he planned to talk to her about - but like the rest of the brainiacs in this town, she seemed to have no common sense at all. And Stark, being a _mature adult_ as he was so fond of pointing out to Jack during their arguments, should have known better.

Fuming, Jack crossed his arms and glared through the bars at Jo, and for once she actually seemed a little intimidated by him.

"At least I didn't shoot him, and believe me, I wanted to."

She raised one elegant eyebrow. "Only because I took away your gun. You can't go around shooting people."

"It was Stark! And I would have only shot him in the leg!"

"Carter, if he'd really deserved it, I'd have shot him myself." She sighed heavily. "Zoe may be your daughter, but she's also my friend."

"He deserved it."

"No, Jack. He didn't. It wasn't his experiment."

"He sanctioned it!"

"Not for Zoe being there. That was on Zoe." She walked over towards the bars, exasperation clear in her voice. "Jack, Stark cannot personally monitor every single experiment going on inside Global, let alone all those taking place in the labs surrounding the town."

"He defended Brabham! Wouldn't even let me arrest the man for life endangerment."

"Zoe's going to be all right, Jack."

He sank against the bars. "She's my little girl, Jo."

Jack felt the anger slowly draining from him, replaced by despair and fear as his thoughts returned to the heart-stopping moment when Jo called him to tell him there had been an accident, and Zoe was hurt. By the time he reached the medical lab on the outskirts of town, Jo and Stark were already there with a clean-up team, refusing him entry. Zoe had been hit by glass and other flying debris when whatever Brabham was cooking up exploded, fortunately raising her arms in time to protect her face but suffering multiple cuts to her arms. She'd tried to convince him that she was fine but all he could recall was the blood soaking through the bandages and the fear that had yet to leave her eyes.

Then, when he pulled his gun and tried to arrest Brabham, Stark had stepped in, refusing to step out of the way. Jo had disarmed him in a move that he should have seen coming but he'd been so scared and angry at the time, and then Stark had the gall to talk about risks. Jack rubbed his sore hand, hissing when he caught some of the skin torn over the knuckles.

"You want another cold pack for that hand?"

He nodded tersely.

Punching Stark should have felt good but as the anger slowly faded, his embarrassment grew. Three years of sniping and taunting, and all the small hurts from being ridiculed at every turn had finally reached a trigger point with Stark's, "Zoe knew the risks."

The worst of it was that now that he was calming down, he could see Jo's point of view... and Stark's. Zoe might only be eighteen but she was no longer a child except in his eyes. He still saw the little girl that wanted to be pushed ' _higher, daddy_ ', on the swings, but everyone else saw a young woman who was a clever and competent scientist, trying to make her mark in a very competitive field.

Another hour passed, during which time he migrated to the small cot and lay down, turning his face to the wall. Eventually he heard the lock released on the cell door but he made no move to turn over or get up. Jo had asked Deputy Andy to allow her to handle this, and Andy had been all too willing to comply.

Traitor, he thought, but he couldn't blame Andy for taking Jo's advice on this occasion rather than giving in to Jack's initial demands to let him out of the cell. He couldn't even beg to see Zoe as she was not exactly happy with him right now. He heard the sound of a chair scraping across the floor and into the cell, expecting it to be Jo, but his nostrils flared as he took in the very masculine scent of a familiar, expensive aftershave.

Stark.

"I'll be in Café Diem if you need me," Jo stated softly, and Jack listened to her leave, hearing her close the main door behind her. Despite her words, he knew she would wait just outside with his deputy to make sure no one disturbed them.

He remained motionless, positive that Stark could be here for one reason only - to fire him. The silence lengthened and although Jack knew he could easily out-wait Stark - after all, he had been a U.S. Marshal trained in handling long surveillance - he sighed and turned to face him, wanting to get it over with.

Stark was slumped forward in the chair with his forearms braced on his knees, hands hanging loose and head bent low. He looked up at Jack's movement and Jack felt another twinge of guilt as he looked at the purpling bruise on Stark's slightly swollen jaw, just visible beneath the beard. Jack couldn't recall the last time he had lost it that bad, enough to forget all his training and strike out at someone in the heat of anger. Part of him wanted to say sorry immediately, but his pride wouldn't let him. He remained silent, needing to hear what Stark had to say before he opened himself up to more ridicule by apologizing for his actions. He didn't want to give Stark the chance to exercise his superiority by looking like he was begging for forgiveness... and for his job.

"I'm sorry I couldn't let you arrest him... and his work is too important to have him redacted."

Jack looked away from the regret filling Stark's green eyes, feeling a small rise of anger at the helplessness he felt every time he was told he was not allowed to do his job. Not that he anticipated having a job for much longer.

"What I can do is put him on probation, which means everything he does has to come through me until I'm satisfied that he is following all the correct procedures and safety protocols."

Jack looked back, surprised by this small concession.

"And Zoe?"

Stark remained silent because they both knew the answer to that question. Zoe was an adult, capable of making her own decisions and deciding what risks she was willing to take in the name of science.

"I can extend probation to any area she wants to work in within Global's control, but she won't be happy with either of us. Opportunities will dry up for her, as no one will want to take her on as a research assistant if that means having to gain my personal approval on every experiment they want to run... no matter how trivial."

"But you'd do it?"

"If you asked... Yes."

Jack wanted to be contrary and tell Stark that was exactly what he wanted but with sudden clarity he knew Stark wasn't bluffing; he could see the sincerity in his eyes. Jack let his gaze slide away from Stark, shaking his head to say it wasn't necessary because Stark was right. Zoe would never forgive him if he prevented her from following her dreams of becoming a great scientist, or she would simply spend her summer vacation working at some other lab outside of Global's control, and far away from Eureka... and him.

"So, am I fired?"

"What?" Stark sounded genuinely confused.

"Do I still have a job?"

Stark remained silent for what was probably less than thirty seconds but seemed far longer.

"That's up to you, Jack," he finally stated softly.

Nodding, Jack looked away again, knowing Stark was telling him that nothing in his job description had changed. If he couldn't accept the influence that Global, and the D.O.D., had over everything that happened in this town then he would be better off finding another job. He heard the rustle of clothes as Stark stood up and waited until Stark was a few steps beyond the cell door before calling to him, waiting for Stark to turn back.

"I am sorry I punched you."

Stark nodded slowly. "I'm not."

****

Something had changed between them since that incident, though Jack was not quite sure what. It was almost as if that moment of insanity on his part had cleared the air between them, ending three years of taunting each other. Perhaps it helped that Allison had not only turned down both of them but had left Eureka just before the incident, leaving them with no reason to continue acting like lovesick rivals fighting for her attention. She had wanted a fresh start away from the town, and from the both of them, choosing to head up a new medical research department at Area 51.

The first confusing moment came two days after the incident when Stark joined him and Henry in a booth at Café Diem. They had almost religiously avoided sharing a table for anything other than necessary business since the day they met and had their first pissing contest over Allison. It took a couple of minutes before Jack realized Stark hadn't come over to talk about Global or the town, unless the new _Iron Man_ movie was considered business. He guessed it was possible because _Iron Man_ had a lot of cool technology at his fingertips.

"Hey! You share the same surname... and traits."

"I'm hardly the billionaire, playboy genius, Carter."

Jack had to concede that one out of three wasn't a great fit but then he'd been thinking more along the lines of personality traits - egotistic, arrogant, selfish, major superiority complex, pain in the ass, and a control freak. He decided against saying so because he owed Stark the first blow, metaphorically speaking, after throwing that punch. It seemed only fair, except two weeks later, Stark had yet to drop a single insult. Oh, they had argued, but admittedly it was more subdued than normal as they both avoided the personal barbs and taunts - about Jack's level of intelligence, their ability to do their job, or Stark's cavalier attitude where other people's lives were concerned.

Stark had taken to joining him and Henry most days for coffee, always arriving at least fifteen minutes after them and leaving first, as if he was trying not to intrude too much on Jack's time with Henry.

For two weeks he had joined them and remained civil to Jack, even pleasant. There was no mention of the punch and, quite frankly, it was putting Jack on edge as he wondered if this was some devious ploy to lull him into a false sense of security before exacting his revenge. Yet when he had hinted at that to Henry earlier in the week, Henry had disagreed.

"Nathan can be many things but vindictive is not one of them."

So here they were again, with Jack watching Stark head out after another pleasant coffee break. He frowned as Stark took a Vinspresso from Vince as he passed the counter, like it was part of some new daily ritual.

"So what's going on, Henry?"

"Hmm?"

Jack looked back at Henry, narrowing his eyes when he saw the gentle smile and crinkling around Henry's all too knowing eyes.

"Henry?"

"Just pleased to see two people I consider good friends finally getting along together."

"Huh!"

Regular coffee meetings became meals, especially after Zoe headed back to Harvard at the end of her internship after the summer break. Fortunately, she hadn't remained angry with him for too long, especially once he confessed to having apologized to Stark. True to his word, Stark had kept a close watch on Brabham to make sure he didn't endanger anyone else with his wanton disrespect for safety protocols. If anything, incidents at Global dropped after Stark brought in a specialist to map out new safety protocols and ensure everyone was not only aware of them but taking heed of them.

The next incident came three weeks after what Jack called _'The Incident'_ , and was actually pretty minor in nature compared to some of the world-ending problems generated at Global over the past few years, but it left Jack with a mild concussion after an inadequate safety barrier slammed into the back of his head from the force of what should have been a small, controlled blast. The two people standing with him had fared far better only because of Jack's split second reaction in throwing himself on top of them.

One of those two had been Nathan.

Jack hadn't lost consciousness for more than a few minutes but he came round with his head resting on Nathan's folded, hideously expensive suit jacket and Nathan yelling down his cell phone at someone - probably Fargo - to override the lock down protocol that was only required for biological containment or fire control, neither of which applied.

Nathan ended the call and looked down at Jack, surprised but relieved to see him awake. Jack tried to sit up but a firm hand pushed down on his chest.

"Jack, you need to remain perfectly still."

Jack reached up a tentative hand to the back of his head and felt the stickiness of blood, but scalp wounds always bled like a bitch.

"Ruining your jacket."

"Doctor Curie has a dry clean formula that can remove blood stains."

"Oh. Right."

He should have remembered that from all the times Callie had removed blood from his uniform shirts. Especially after the incident where Taggart had covered both him and Jo with human remains while demonstrating how the sun's rays could have caused someone to spontaneously combust. He closed his eyes for a moment only to have Nathan pinch his arm, making Jack startle awake with the sudden flash of pain.

"Stay with me, Jack."

"I didn't know you cared, Nathan."

Nathan smiled wryly, saying nothing but even with a concussion Jack could read the emotions crossing Nathan's face - fear, caring, concern -especially the ones reflected in his eyes; soft green eyes with a hint of gray and blue. They reminded him of....

"Jack?"

It took Jack a moment longer to realize he'd been staring into Nathan's eyes for far longer than was considered polite. Shocked, he pointed to his head, searching for an excuse. "Brain damage."

Nathan smiled, lips thinning as he obviously bit back on a comment, and that was when it struck Jack that he had given Nathan ample opportunities to ridicule his lower I.Q. since _The Incident_ , but Nathan had taken none of them. And when had he started to think of Stark as Nathan, anyway?

"Must be losing it, Stark. You just missed a golden opportunity to mock me."

"Liked it better when you called me Nathan."

Jack glanced around, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed and vulnerable for no obvious reason. He spotted Doctor Green's assistant sitting with her back to the wall, knees drawn up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them. He gave her a reassuring smile, waiting until he saw the tension leave her small frame and had received a tiny smile in return before looking back at Nathan. He caught a look on the other man's face that momentarily confused him because it revealed a depth of warmth that he'd only seen aimed at Allison and Kevin before today, and maybe Henry. Nathan reached out and brushed an imaginary piece of hair or dirt or something from Jack's face.

Their eyes held again, and this time there was no mistaking the emotion Jack could read in Nathan's eyes, and no hiding from the way he felt in return even though it confused the hell out of him. It was like he could feel a wall of denial crumbling inside his head, and all those petty barbs and nasty comments from the past suddenly took on a whole new meaning.

"Nathan? What are we-?"

The moment was lost as the lock finally released and medical personnel poured into the room. As they dropped down beside him, Nathan stood up and walked away but Jack saw him falter by the door and look back. Again their eyes held for only a moment but it seemed as if they exchanged a lifetime's worth of promises in that moment.

The doctor insisted on Jack staying in the infirmary for observation overnight once they'd finished with a battery of tests and MRIs and scans that proved it was just a mild concussion and nothing more sinister; no broken bones or leaking from his spinal column or bleeding into his eyeballs or brain. Just a mild concussion that meant he wouldn't get more than a few hours sleep at a stretch until they were convinced it was safe for him to go home and sleep properly.

When he awoke the next morning after a broken night's sleep, he was surprised to find Nathan hovering over him, reading the monitors and flipping through his charts.

"So am I going to live?"

Nathan sank into the seat drawn up beside the bed. "At least until the next time you heroically throw yourself into danger."

"Heroically?" He grinned, unable to resist a chance to tease. "Am I your hero now, Nathan?"

In answer, Nathan leaned over and pressed his lips against Jack's, the kiss firm yet gentle. He drew back before Jack could respond, standing up and walking away, leaving Jack tracing his still tingling lips with a finger.

He was released an hour later with orders to head straight home and stay off work for at least the next two days. Jo took him home, and though Jack glanced up towards the Director's office as they crossed the main foyer, he could see no sign of Nathan.

Andy avoided his calls and Jo refused to let him even speak to her about anything work related at Global, even when he switched from blackmail to trying to bribe her with promises of some fancy perfume that apparently got Zane all hot and bothered. And really, that was information he could well live without. The problem was, he had nothing to distract him from his memory of that kiss and the messy emotions behind it - both his and Nathan's. It left him fantasizing over what might happen next - if anything at all because he had never even considered Nathan could be interested in guys before that kiss, let alone in him. He wasn't as concerned by his own reaction as though he hadn't touched another guy in years, not even since the divorce, it hadn't stopped him from looking on occasion. He could even admit, if only to himself, that he had always found Nathan attractive, which had been half of the problem while they fought over Allison.

Tall, dark, handsome, intelligent, and with those long, lean limbs and agile fingers, and the way he filled out a suit. Who wouldn't be interested in Nathan Stark? Even Abby had thought him devastatingly attractive, and they had always shared a similar taste in men, which is why it had always surprised Jack when she agreed to marry him. All her extra-marital affairs and her boyfriends since their divorce had looked more like Nathan than him. It certainly put a new spin on the strange looks and psychobabble from that time when she came to Eureka. He thought she'd been interested in Nathan for herself despite remarking on how striking Allison and Nathan looked together as a couple, but now he wondered if she had seen something else. In typical shrink fashion, she'd simply asked probing yet cryptic questions and then left him to figure it out for himself... and look how well that had turned out.

Years of denial filled with undercurrents of unresolved sexual tension that had manifested in sharp words and anger. No wonder Allison had given up on both of them and run far away.

With so much evidence against him, he stopped trying to hide from the idea of having stronger feelings for Nathan than for Allison, and now that idea was out of the box, Jack found it impossible to stuff it back inside. Except now he was starting to wonder if he'd only dreamed Nathan kissed him; an hallucination brought on by his head injury.

When he reached Café Diem the following day - because no one said he had to stay at the bunker, only that he couldn't go back to work - Jack slid into the usual empty booth and smiled when Henry joined him a few minutes later.

"Jack! How's the head?"

"Definitely taken too many blows," he replied with a wry smile that had Henry wavering between intrigue and concern. "I had this... I think Nathan kissed me. Or maybe I hallucinated it. I'm not sure."

Instead of looking even more concerned, Henry smiled warmly. "Then why don't you ask Nathan-?"

"I can't ask-."

"Ask me what?" Nathan slid into the booth seat next to Henry and opposite Jack. He leaned forward across the narrow table and kissed Jack on the lips. "About this?"

Jack licked his tingling lips. "Ah... yeah. About that?"

"You have a problem with that?"

"Uh..." A quick glance around showed no one paying them any attention. "No. Not really."

"Good." Nathan changed the subject, leaving Jack more confused than ever while Henry's grin widened.

***

"Where's the paperwork on Doctor Green?"

"All completed and filed away, Sheriff."

Jack frowned at Andy's happy, almost creepy smile. He'd only been on forced medical leave for two days and it usually took at least a week before he managed to convince Global to hand over a copy of the investigation report, and that was usually accompanied by threatening phone calls.

"Already?"

"Doctor Green was redacted. Doctor Stark expedited the redaction himself. Said they had safety protocols in place for a reason, and if Doctor Green couldn't be bothered to follow them then there was no place for him at Global. I believe he wanted it to be a lesson to everyone at Global that he was fully supportive of the new safety measures."

"Really?"

Confused by this turn of events, Jack went up to Global to see Jo.

"I quote..." Jo put on a typical Stark expression. "Your lack of adherence to safety protocols resulted in injury to one of this town's most important people, and almost to myself." Jo grinned brightly. "He was talking about you."

"Huh!"

****

After another three weeks, the way Nathan greeted him in Café Diem had become an established routine that no one paid any mind to, not even Vince after the first few days. Jack would wait in Café Diem at the end of his work day, with or without Henry depending on whether he could be dragged away from his latest experiment, and then Nathan would arrive, lean over the table, and kiss Jack before settling in opposite and acting as if the kiss had been nothing more than a handshake.

But today was going to be different.

The nights were drawing in and it was already dark when he left the station to head over to Café Diem.

Jack waited in the shadows along the street until he saw Nathan enter the café, seeing him hesitate for a moment when he noticed the empty booth. Before Nathan could decide to walk away, Jack entered behind him and gave a small wave of greeting, smiling slyly to himself as Nathan took his customary seat with a frown creasing his forehead. This time, when Nathan prepared to lean forward to kiss him as soon as he was seated, Jack preempted him, pressing his lips against Nathan's first.

He sank back into his seat and started relating an event from his day as if nothing new had passed between them - Doctor Petroni and the strange duck that was swimming in his pool eating his fish, that turned out to be one of Taggart's escaped cross-species duck-alligators. Jack didn't miss the slightly glazed expression or the way Nathan licked his lower lip.

"Let's hope that doesn't get flushed down the toilet when Taggart's finished with it!" Referring to the urban myth of giant albino alligators in the sewers of New York. "Because I am not going in after it."

Nathan smiled, having regained his composure, and when Henry joined them a minute or so later, they started in on other urban myths that they had heard over the years. When Jack saw the tell-tale signs of Nathan about to leave, he preempted him once more.

"Hey, I'm tired so I'm going to head out early tonight. See you tomorrow? Same time?"

Jack walked away with a wicked smile playing about his lips, knowing he had put Nathan into a spin this evening for a change. He felt Nathan's eyes burning a hole into his back until he was out of sight, and only then did he let the smile become a full blown grin. It may have been a good twenty years since he last openly flirted with another guy but Nathan's reaction to that kiss proved they were both ready to take this change in their relationship one step further. 

All Jack had to decide was whether he should allow Nathan to take the lead, or whether he should make that next move himself. Surprisingly, he didn't have to wait long though as he heard footsteps coming up behind him. Stopping, Jack turned and smiled when he confirmed it was Nathan.

"Jack."

"Nathan."

"So... How tired are you?"

"That depends."

"On?"

"On if I have a good reason to stay awake."

Nathan moved closer while Jack slowly maneuvered them into the shadows between two buildings until they were scant inches apart, and Jack was forced to look up to see into his eyes, seeing just a glint of reflected light from the street lamps beyond. Leaning in, Nathan pressed his lips against Jack's but this time it was no chaste kiss. This time they both deepened the kiss, tasting and sighing softly in pleasure as arms came up to wrap around each other, drawing the other closer. Jack arched against Nathan as a strong hand stroked down from the small of his back over the curve of his ass leaving no doubt of what Nathan wanted.

Pulling back, breathless and aroused, Nathan nuzzled at Jack's cheek and hair. "Is that reason enough?"

"Oh yeah."

"My home's closer," Nathan murmured against Jack's hair.

"And it doesn't have a nosy A.I."

He felt Nathan's smile against his skin. "That too."

Any concerns for Nathan changing his mind during the enforced cool-off period as they took their separate cars were quickly alleviated as soon as they entered Nathan's house. The door had barely closed and locked behind them before Nathan was kissing him again, body pressed up hard and wanting. As one leg nudged between his, Jack could feel the hardness of Nathan's erection mirroring his own, and dropped his forehead to Nathan's shoulder.

"Bed. Less clothes."

He shoved at Nathan's suit jacket, waiting until it was almost slipping from Nathan's shoulders before reaching for his tie but Nathan grabbed his hands and slowly drew Jack along the darkened hallway to the stairs. Holding one hand, he led Jack upstairs to the bedroom.

Jack barely spared the room a glance. His focus was too intent on Nathan as he watched Nathan slowly strip off his expensive suit and lay it down carefully over the back of a chair before reaching to undo his tie; he was mesmerized by the body slowly being revealed to him. It didn't matter that he had seen Nathan half naked before. All that mattered was the here and now in this warm room, and the reason for the slow strip tease.

Nathan raised an eyebrow and repeated Jack's own words back at him when Jack remained motionless. "Bed. Less clothes, Jack."

Mouth dry, all Jack could do was nod and fumble for the buttons of his uniform shirt. His fingers refused to work as the knowledge suddenly overwhelmed him that this was the first person he planned to sleep with since Abby, and the first man since forever. But then Nathan was right there in front of him, hands cupping his face and kissing him gently, reassuring him that everything was good.

"We'll take it as slow as you need."

Nathan's fingers worked the buttons of his uniform smoothly, giving Jack time to ease the panic that had momentarily frozen him in place. Then it was just the well remembered sensation of skin on skin, the slide of fingers, the soft, wet caress of lips as they settled onto the bed, finally naked, and Jack knew exactly what he wanted to do for Nathan.

It had been so long since he was last with another man, but some things were never forgotten.

Slowly he moved down the strong, lean body, lapping at a nipple and running fingers along the sharp relief of the rib cage before skimming lower. Abdominal muscles quivered beneath his touch as he worked his way down, deliberately avoiding the hard cock standing proud from a nest of dark curls. He nudged the hard shaft with his cheek as he pressed kisses against the soft skin of Nathan's inner thigh, looking up the length of Nathan's body to offer a wicked grin as he gently yet firmly pushed away the hand that tried to force Jack where Nathan needed him so desperately.

Deciding to end the teasing, Jack licked up the full length of Nathan's cock from base to crown, eyes locking with Nathan's, seeing a gamut of emotions race across his face from lust through desperation before finally settling on trust and desire... maybe even love. Very slowly, with one hand wrapped around the base, Jack lowered his mouth over Nathan's cock, tongue pressing over the sensitive bundle of nerves. He set up a strong rhythm, taking him deeper each time until his stretched lips were tasting the salty sweat of his own busily-working hand.

He could hear Nathan calling his name, telling him how good it was, begging him not to stop right up until his fingers were scrabbling at Jack's too-short hair, trying to push him off, but Jack wanted it all. He sped up his hand, bobbing his head faster, and not letting up even when he felt the first bitter spurt against the back of his throat and coating his tongue, swallowing around the hard cock in his mouth. Jack slowed as Nathan's body finally went boneless beneath him, fully sated. He pulled off, almost smacking his lips as he crawled further up the bed. Jack reached down to fist his own cock, taking only a few strokes before he was striping Nathan's belly with his come. He collapsed to one side, grinning when Nathan dragged him closer.

"Never took you for a cuddler," Jack remarked as Nathan pressed his head down onto Nathan's shoulder and encouraged him to snuggle closer still, one leg sliding between Nathan's and his left arm slung over Nathan's still heaving chest.

"Not that I don't appreciate what you just did but... why, Jack?"

"I punched you."

"Hmm?" Nathan shifted to look at him, confusion creasing his forehead. "And I said I wasn't sorry you did. Until then, I hadn't realized why I taunted you so much. I wanted to crack that U.S. Marshal shell just to prove how superior I was over you. I'd seen you come close to losing it so often but..." He trailed off, tightening his hold as Jack tensed up. "I never want to see you looking so scared again, Jack. Never want to hurt you like that again. I deserved that punch."

Jack relaxed, snorting softly, voice tainted with irony. "And here I was figuring I owed you the first blow in return."

It took a second for the double meaning to sink in, but then Nathan laughed softly, pressing a kiss against Jack's hair.

"If these are the only blows we exchange in future, then I'll be more than happy with that."

END


End file.
